A project to link two parts of a local park with new greenery and a playful stepping stone trail has opened off Downham Road. 

Linking the two sides of Ufton Gardens - a ball court and a garden sitting either side of Ufton Road - with continuous paving, planting and cycle parking, the project is one of many across the borough that seek to improve connections between green spaces, a key Council ambition to break down barriers between parks. 

Following the project, 55m2 of road space has been converted into a brand new rain garden complete with 201 new plants, three new street trees and a bug hotel.

Elsewhere in the borough, the Council is identifying sites where it can remove fences, introduce more greenery in grey spaces and help protect against flooding. This includes another ‘connecting green spaces’ project in Daubeney Fields, where, in response to feedback from local residents, the Council is opening up views into the park, making the entrances more welcoming and creating new paths to help people move around the park. 

The Ufton Gardens project also sits on the site of a recently introduced low traffic neighbourhood filter - showing what traffic filters in low traffic neighbourhoods could look like as they’re replaced with permanent planting. 

Cllr Caroline Woodley, Cabinet Member for Families, Parks and Leisure, opened the new project this week alongside Head Gardener Marco Trevisan and Alex and Alison from local community volunteer group, the De Beauvoir Gardeners. 

The volunteer gardeners care for Ufton Gardens and have worked on a project with local school children to create stars now hung up on the railings surrounding the park.

The project on Ufton Road was funded by Hackney Council and the Mayor of London’s Grow Back Greener Fund.